School me on the difference between these 2!

[JParm]

I've never been a fan of Omega or the Speedmaster (great history, but the watch itself didn't do it for me)...and then I saw the 60th from Basel this year:



WOW. So of course I had to make my way to the boutique, knowing full well that they wouldn't have it in stock. That's when I saw the '57 Co-Axial, which also blew me away:



So, what can you all tell me about the differences between these two? I know one has a date while the other doesn't, but what else should I know, being a total Omega newbie?

The '57 retails for over 9k but I've seen them for around 5k on the pre-owned market. The 60th retails for a little over 7k but is selling at a premium pre-owned. What am I missing, besides the fact that the 60th is a "Limited Edition" of a whopping 3557 pieces?

[texasmade]

57 Co-axial is an automatic while 60th anniversary is manual wind. 60th is also smaller than the 57 Co-axial by a few mm.

[arcadelt]

Befitting such an Anniversary, the 60th is an almost visually perfect re-edition of the original Reference CK2915 Speedmaster released in 1957, and is timely also because re-editions are hot right now across many brands. In truth, the 3557 + another 557 in the trilogy set is not particularly limited, and while they are selling at a premium right now, I think that might stand against them in the future. That said, right now many different Speedmaster Professional Limited Editions are selling well above their list price and above what was being paid just a year ago, so something is clearly going on in the marketplace. In terms of the movement, the 60th has the more modern manual wind 861/1861 calibre family shared with the standard Speedmaster Professional "moonwatch" since the late 60s, not the original 321 calibre that is much revered amongst vintage collectors. The 60th is a sober 38.6mm wide and what you see is what you get - no variations - although it comes with a couple of extra straps in the rather large box.

The Speedmaster '57 is a modern interpretation of the original Speedmaster released in 2015, but is more a nod to than a re-edition of the CK2915. It follows a couple of previous "nods", one that was even called the replica, but was a bit wide of the mark. The '57 is 41.5mm wide and has a thoroughly modern calibre 9300/9301 automatic coaxial movement within. As you note, it has a date complication, and you can see it has two sub-dials instead of the more usual three, with the 60-minute and 12-hour chronograph totalisers combined on the sub-dial at the 3 o'clock position. Finally, the '57 comes in many metal and dial variations, although only two have the broad arrow hands that were a feature of the original CK2915 and common with the 60th.

You note the price and availability differences, and also mention pre-owned. If you are not fussed with the precision and accuracy of the link to the original CK2915, then you might also consider the Reference 3594.50/3894.50 '57 "Replica" that was available from 1998 to 2003 and can be bought in the used market for around $3000.



Photo Credit:
1. Unknown from the Internet.

[Bushido]

Originally Posted by arcadelt

Befitting such an Anniversary, the 60th is an almost visually perfect re-edition of the original Reference CK2915 Speedmaster released in 1957, and is timely also because re-editions are hot right now across many brands. In truth, the 3557 + another 557 in the trilogy set is not particularly limited, and while they are selling at a premium right now, I think that might stand against them in the future. That said, right now many different Speedmaster Professional Limited Editions are selling well above their list price and above what was being paid just a year ago, so something is clearly going on in the marketplace. In terms of the movement, the 60th has the more modern manual wind 861/1861 calibre family shared with the standard Speedmaster Professional "moonwatch" since the late 60s, not the original 321 calibre that is much revered amongst vintage collectors. The 60th is a sober 38.6mm wide and what you see is what you get - no variations - although it comes with a couple of extra straps in the rather large box.

The Speedmaster '57 is a modern interpretation of the original Speedmaster released in 2015, but is more a nod to than a re-edition of the CK2915. It follows a couple of previous "nods", one that was even called the replica, but was a bit wide of the mark. The '57 is 41.5mm wide and has a thoroughly modern calibre 9300/9301 automatic coaxial movement within. As you note, it has a date complication, and you can see it has two sub-dials instead of the more usual three, with the 60-minute and 12-hour chronograph totalisers combined on the sub-dial at the 3 o'clock position. Finally, the '57 comes in many metal and dial variations, although only two have the broad arrow hands that were a feature of the original CK2915 and common with the 60th.

You note the price and availability differences, and also mention pre-owned. If you are not fussed with the precision and accuracy of the link to the original CK2915, then you might also consider the Reference 3594.50/3894.50 '57 "Replica" that was available from 1998 to 2003 and can be bought in the used market for around $3000.



Photo Credit:
1. Unknown from the Internet.

Very good write up on the differences, nicely said!

[JParm]

Originally Posted by arcadelt

Befitting such an Anniversary, the 60th is an almost visually perfect re-edition of the original Reference CK2915 Speedmaster released in 1957, and is timely also because re-editions are hot right now across many brands. In truth, the 3557 + another 557 in the trilogy set is not particularly limited, and while they are selling at a premium right now, I think that might stand against them in the future. That said, right now many different Speedmaster Professional Limited Editions are selling well above their list price and above what was being paid just a year ago, so something is clearly going on in the marketplace. In terms of the movement, the 60th has the more modern manual wind 861/1861 calibre family shared with the standard Speedmaster Professional "moonwatch" since the late 60s, not the original 321 calibre that is much revered amongst vintage collectors. The 60th is a sober 38.6mm wide and what you see is what you get - no variations - although it comes with a couple of extra straps in the rather large box.

The Speedmaster '57 is a modern interpretation of the original Speedmaster released in 2015, but is more a nod to than a re-edition of the CK2915. It follows a couple of previous "nods", one that was even called the replica, but was a bit wide of the mark. The '57 is 41.5mm wide and has a thoroughly modern calibre 9300/9301 automatic coaxial movement within. As you note, it has a date complication, and you can see it has two sub-dials instead of the more usual three, with the 60-minute and 12-hour chronograph totalisers combined on the sub-dial at the 3 o'clock position. Finally, the '57 comes in many metal and dial variations, although only two have the broad arrow hands that were a feature of the original CK2915 and common with the 60th.

You note the price and availability differences, and also mention pre-owned. If you are not fussed with the precision and accuracy of the link to the original CK2915, then you might also consider the Reference 3594.50/3894.50 '57 "Replica" that was available from 1998 to 2003 and can be bought in the used market for around $3000.



Photo Credit:
1. Unknown from the Internet.

Thank you for the great information - this is precisely why I come to Rolexforums first!

[ap1]

57 is much thicker

[bdex75]

I am not a huge fan of the automatic Speedy models. Just too thick for my tastes. I would rather have the 60th. But as someone said, a premium and hard to find.

May want to look for a FOIS. They have a manual wind, therefore thinner, proper speedy movement. And no date.


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[DCheeta]

Originally Posted by bdex75

I am not a huge fan of the automatic Speedy models. Just too thick for my tastes. I would rather have the 60th. But as someone said, a premium and hard to find.

May want to look for a FOIS. They have a manual wind, therefore thinner, proper speedy movement. And no date.


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Good call. The FOIS (First Omega In Space) is a fairly good re-creation of the CK2998. I love the FOIS.

It differs from the CK2915/60th Anniv Speedy in that it has a black bezel insert as opposed to steel, the hands are alpha style instead of broad arrow, and the crystal is sapphire. (There are other differences of course, but these are the most obvious at a glance.)

The FOIS also shares the same manual winding cal1861 of the 60th Anniv model and the standard Speedy Pro.

[bdex75]

Originally Posted by DCheeta

Good call. The FOIS (First Omega In Space) is a fairly good re-creation of the CK2998. I love the FOIS.



It differs from the CK2915/60th Anniv Speedy in that it has a black bezel insert as opposed to steel, the hands are alpha style instead of broad arrow, and the crystal is sapphire. (There are other differences of course, but these are the most obvious at a glance.)



The FOIS also shares the same manual winding cal1861 of the 60th Anniv model and the standard Speedy Pro.

Yes sir. It is a winner!! And can be had in the $3500-$4000 range NIB.



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